When Adrian Smith Knew ‘Run to the Hills’ Was ‘Something Special’
Iron Maiden’s 1982 album The Number of the Beast is one of the most celebrated releases in metal history, and is regularly ranked among the genre’s defining LP’s.
During a recent conversation with Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk, guitarist Adrian Smith was asked if he realized The Number of the Beast would become an iconic album while the band was making it.
“I’m never that blasé,” the guitarist responded – however he quickly noted one instance that did carry a sense of palpable excitement. “‘Run to the Hills,’” Smith declared. “When we heard that back, we thought ‘This is the single: ‘Run to the Hills.’’ Like a genuine single, with three bar harmonies on the chorus, Bruce [Dickinson] backed up the vocals. Catchy chorus. So yeah, we probably did get the idea [that] this could be something special.”
Smith also revealed his earliest memories of hearing The Number of the Beast’s famous title track.
“I stayed with Steve Harris when I joined the band, because I did a crash course in learning the set and I sat with him most days just going through songs,” he explained. “And then one day he said to me, ‘Oh, check this out. I’ve got this one.’ He didn’t have a demo or anything but he just had the idea for ‘Number of the Beast.’ And he did the intro and he just sort of scat sang that the vocals and that. And he played that to me in that very very rough state, I remember that. And that turned out to be one of the big Maiden songs, obviously.”
Iron Maiden will launch their Run for Your Lives world tour next month, with dates throughout Europe running until August. Meanwhile, Smith just released Black Light/White Noise, his second album with Richie Kotzen.
Iron Maiden Albums Ranked
When ranking Iron Maiden albums, perhaps the most striking thing is that they succeeded despite changing lead singers on three separate occasions.
17: ‘The X Factor’ (1995)
Blaze Bayley, on his first Iron Maiden album, tried in vain to fill the large shoes vacated by Bruce Dickinson. He got little help from bandleader Steve Harris, who came up with a bunch of stubbornly overwrought tunes. What’s more, longtime producer Martin Birch had just retired, forcing Harris to cope on his own
17: ‘The X Factor’ (1995)
Blaze Bayley, on his first Iron Maiden album, tried in vain to fill the large shoes vacated by Bruce Dickinson. He got little help from bandleader Steve Harris, who came up with a bunch of stubbornly overwrought tunes. What’s more, longtime producer Martin Birch had just retired, forcing Harris to cope on his own
15: ‘No Prayer for the Dying’ (1990)
Iron Maiden’s first album with guitarist Janick Gers was a calculated effort to strip down the band’s sound following the conceptual excesses of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. It ended up as a lazy, uninspired collection, devoid of long-term keepers except for “Bring Your Daughter…to the Slaughter” – and Steve Harris had to twist Bruce Dickinson’s arm to keep that off his solo record.
14: ‘Dance of Death’ (2003)
Something of a comedown, Dance of Death followed the frenzied excitement awaiting Iron Maiden’s reunion with Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith, three years earlier. But it was still an embarrassment of riches by any definition. “Wildest Dreams” and “Rainmaker” were a knockout one-two-punch and the bombastic “Paschendale” may well be their absolute finest hour of the third millennium.
13: ‘The Final Frontier’ (2010)
Another reminder of Iron Maiden’s staying power, The Final Frontier arrived an entire decade after their return to glory as a sextet. And it was quintessential Maiden, with hardly a song dipping below the five-minute-mark and several new age epics (“Isle of Avalon,” “The Man Who Would Be King,” etc.) that were as grand as those classics from two decades before.
12: ‘Fear of the Dark’ (1992)
Iron Maiden wrapped up the first Bruce Dickinson era with a bang, somehow managing to appease their increasingly demanding fans while trying out a few new tricks. The title track may have been vintage Maiden, through and through, but “Wasting Love” was a bona fide ballad, and topical subjects largely replaced castle metal fantasy.
11: ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ (2006)
Iron Maiden flirted with conceptual continuity, and their recurring themes of religion, war and, yes, life and death arguably made this the band’s most consistent third millennium LP. So much so, that Iron Maiden was emboldened to perform the album in its entirety on their subsequent tour and, even more amazingly, they encountered precious little resistance from fans.
10: ‘Brave New World’ (2000)
A musical omnibus, Brave New World evokes memories of those beloved ‘80s LPs while gazing ever forward, into the future. The returning Dickinson and Smith elevated Harris, Gers and Murray to new heights during moments like the title track, which embraced promising days ahead, and “Blood Brothers,” which appropriately focused on the renewed bonds of past fellowship.
9: ‘Somewhere in Time’ (1986)
Worn out after the record-breaking World Slavery Tour, Iron Maiden found it hard to match recent triumphs again. Steve Harris’ songs were relatively dependable, but he tempted fans’ wrath by experimenting with guitar synths – and Bruce Dickinson was a disappointing no show on the songwriting front. Luckily, Adrian Smith stepped up with “Wasted Years.”
8: ‘Book of Souls’ (2015)
Conceived in a whole new way, there’s as much gumption here as in anything Iron Maiden has done. The results offer much to thrill die-hard fans but just as much to challenge their preconceived notions.
7: ‘Senjutsu’ (2021)
Traveling from South America to East Asia, while refining – and apparently perfecting – the approach taken on ‘Book of Souls,’ Steve Harris seems to have fulfilled his ambition of turning Maiden into a no-holds-barred prog band, albeit with a taste for riffs and melodies that remain specifically theirs. Blue-collar Genesis, if you will, delivered with intricacy and a spirit of unity. The quick stings of “Stratego” and “Days of Future Past” make clear they remember where they came from, while the limelight is clearly on Harris’ epic closing trio “Death of the Celts,” “The Parchment” and “Hell on Earth.”
6: ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’ (1988)
The last LP from Iron Maiden’s classic ’80s lineup, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was a progressive and conceptual tour de force, challenging listeners with cryptic musings on good and evil, as well as (gulp!) synthesizers. Chief songwriters Harris, Dickinson and Smith collaborated like never before, as if knowing they wouldn’t have another opportunity for more than a decade
5: ‘Iron Maiden’ (1980)
This debut was slowed by production challenges and songwriting inconsistencies. But at their best (headbangers like “Prowler” and “Iron Maiden,” the intricate “Phantom of the Opera” or the rousing “Running Free”), there’s no doubting Iron Maiden’s future renown. Besides, the LP’s significance far outweighs any human flaws, as it became a bellwether for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
4: ‘Killers’ (1981)
Iron Maiden solved their first album’s sonic riddles with help from producer Martin Birch, who gave shape to Steve Harris’ creative vision on favorites like “Wrathchild,” “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and the title track. Sadly, this also proved to be their last LP with Paul Di’Anno. He made way for Bruce Dickinson later that year, but not before earning a permanent spot in the hearts of many fans.
3: ‘Piece of Mind’ (1983)
Iron Maiden consolidated their classic lineup, with the newly arrived Nicko McBrain making an immediate impact on the blistering “Where Eagles Dare,” Dickinson proving his songwriting mettle on “Revelations,” and Harris delivering the goods, as usual, on “The Trooper,” “Dune” and “Flight of Icarus” (in partnership with Adrian Smith).
2: ‘Powerslave’ (1984)
No album epitomizes Iron Maiden at their peak quite like Powerslave, with its memorable Egyptian imagery courtesy of designer Derek Riggs. Highlights included heavy-metal staples like “Aces High,” “2 Minutes to Midnight” and the 13-minute colossus, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
1: ‘The Number of the Beast’ (1982)
of “Run to the Hills,” the patented gallop of “Hallowed be Thy Name” and deeper cuts that would qualify as all-time classics for anyone else, there’s simply no topping Number of the Beast.
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